Amazon might be buying some Toys “R” Us stores

According to an article in Bloomberg, Amazon is considering buying some Toys “R” Us stores to grow its brick-and-mortar presence. “The online giant isn’t interested in maintaining the Toys ‘R’ Us brand,” according to the article, “but has considered using the soon-to-be-vacant spaces for its own purposes.” Similar to acquiring Whole Foods last year, this purchase would allow Amazon to widen distribution, expand offerings such as Amazon Go, or implement new offerings similar to Amazon Books.

As mentioned in yesterday’s Quick Bite, Amazon Go acts as an information hub, allowing Amazon to learn what types of food and perishable products their customers are most attracted to, which can ultimately benefit their e-commerce-based food and perishable offerings. This potential Toys “R” Us purchase may be essential to expanding Amazon Go to areas outside of Seattle — allowing Amazon to collect robust location-based customer preference data.